It was suggested to me that National Co-op Month in October would be a good time to think about “the lasting good the farmer has done using the cooperative model.” Specifically mentioned were the co-ops that brought electricity, phone service and, more recently, broadband to rural North Dakota, all because of those farmers.
I thought about that, and the thanks we owe to those farmers. But I wondered why those specific co-ops succeeded, while others didn’t. Over the years, I’ve done countless stories about value-added agricultural cooperatives. Many were tried. Some never got off the ground. Some that succeeded still didn’t last long. Why? What’s different about those?
I thought about the co-op store where my parents sold eggs and bought all their groceries. Why did it survive so long, while food co-ops today struggle? What’s different?
For my father, agri-culture meant co-op culture. He drove a Co-op tractor and bought gas and oil for it at the Farmers Union Oil Company. The grain he harvested with his Co-op combine was sold at a co-op elevator. And when he retired, he invested his meager savings in a credit union.
He and the farmers like him formed cooperatives, because there was a need and they had a vision. They were loyal and disciplined enough to support those co-ops, because they believed they would benefit, long term. Perhaps that discipline isn’t there today.
I talked to a couple of people who have spent years in cooperative development. Here are some of the things they told me. Co-ops do best if they provide something you can’t get elsewhere. When co-ops get big, they often lose their focus and mimic the industry group to which they belong. Sometimes, when a value-added ag co-op is successful, it gets bought by a corporation that makes an offer so enticing that co-op members, who view themselves as investors rather than producer-members, choose near-term gain over long-term potential. The cooperative model fits some businesses better than others.
During Co-op Month, we salute all the cooperatives that continue to provide service to their members, while we ponder all the reasons why there aren’t more.
Al Gustin is a retired farm broadcaster, active rancher and a member of Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative.
